this post was submitted on 12 Mar 2024
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temperature (mander.xyz)
submitted 9 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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[–] FooBarrington 4 points 9 months ago (1 children)

We don't have issues with decimals in many places. For example, why are there pennies? Why aren't dollars just scaled up 100? Generally speaking: why don't people immediately shift to the lower unit when talking about e.g. 3.5 miles? If you're correct, those should be simplified too - yet they aren't.

Why bother with Celcius at all when there is Kelvin.

Because Celsius uses a scale that relies on temperatures you're encountering in your everyday life.

Even Kelvin is arbitrary. Best to use Plank normalized temperature. The scale would be absolute 0 to 100 where 0 is absolute 0 and 100 is 10^32 Kelvin.

Why? That scale is still arbitrarily chosen.

[–] Blue_Morpho 1 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

Because Celsius uses a scale that relies on temperatures you’re encountering in your everyday life.

But that's the same reason given for Farenheit!

Why? That scale is still arbitrarily chosen

It's not arbitrary in that it represents the fundamental limits of temperature in the universe. Planck units are fundamental to the nature of the universe rather than based on any arbitrary object.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planck_units

[–] FooBarrington 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

But that's the same reason given for Farenheit!

I would also argue that Fahrenheit is better-suited for everyday life than Kelvin is. Both Celsius and Fahrenheit are objectively closer to temperatures we encounter. Fahrenheit being closer than Celsius is subjective. Do you understand?

It's not arbitrary in that it represents the fundamental limits of temperature in the universe.

There are still a bunch of arbitrary decisions:

  • what is your minimum and maximum (e.g. why 0/100? Why not 0/1?)
  • what does zero represent (e.g. why is 0 minimum? Why not center?)
  • how do you scale (e.g. linear/logarithmic)

All of these are arbitrary decisions you've made when you suggested Planck temperature with a scale from 0 to 100. Do you understand?

[–] Blue_Morpho 1 points 9 months ago

Fahrenheit being closer than Celsius is subjective. Do you understand?

Given that you already said you have to use 3 digits to give Celsius the range that matches human temperature sensing, that's not true. 1 degree F is the average threshold that humans can perceive a difference in temperature. It's why thermostats use 3 digits for Celsius but only 2 for Farenheit.

The only reason you say C matches people is because you are used to 21.5 C being a regular indoor temperature. If you grew up with Kelvin that would be 294.5 K. Three digits instead of four.

what is your minimum and maximum

Doesn't matter. Base 10 would be better so it matches the rest of metric. The decimal place shifts one space but that doesn't change the number of digits needed to represent a temperature.

Zero is absolute zero. You can't have below zero because temperature is a measure of motion.

how do you scale

Linear to match the rest of the metric system.